This issue of The Catholic Telegraph focuses on “faith firsts.” What does that mean, exactly? Faith firsts are those moments in our lives when we encounter some part of our faith for the very first time.

What is a “faith first” for you? Was it the moment you were baptized, or your child was baptized? Or perhaps it was the first time you felt a true connection with God through prayer, or when you prayed the Rosary for the first time. Maybe it was the awe of First Communion and recognizing that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

I can think of many faith firsts in my personal life, but one moment stands head and shoulders above the others: On July 2, 2011, not only did we baptize our first child, but I was confirmed and my husband and I convalidated our marriage in the Church. Talk about an abundance of blessings!

The Catechism says, “In baptism, the Holy Spirit moves us to answer Christ’s call to holiness. In baptism, we are asked to walk by the light of Christ and to trust in His wisdom. We are invited to submit our hearts to Christ with ever deeper love.”

That day was a moment of profound grace and overwhelming love our family shared together as my husband and I recommitted to love one another as God loves the Church, and to teach our daughter how to walk by the light of Christ. It was also the starting point of a rich life of faith and trust in God – a life that eventually grew to encompass three more children and initiated us into loving Catholic parishes and schools. It was the first step in recognizing just how much we are loved by the Father and an invitation to learn more, pray more and submit our joys, fears and difficulties to the foot of the Cross.

I hope this issue of the magazine inspires those same feelings – that it helps you kickstart or re-energize your faith and that of your family. We included relateable topics for all ages and stages of life and faith – from tangible ways to engage young children in prayer and take part in a Marian Consecration for the first time, to learning about what confirmation really means and what it’s like to be a priest in the first few years.

In his pastoral letter, Radiate Christ, Archbishop Schnurr includes a prayer that echoes what we are called to in baptism, as well as a call to witness our faith in a way that bears fruit. Perhaps in doing so, we may serve as someone’s first encounter with faith.

Mary, Mother of the Church and our Mother, present our prayer of thanksgiving to your Son. Beg from Him the graces we need to be faithful disciples who follow Him with enthusiasm and joy. May our witness to the love of God bear fruit in our archdiocese, parishes, homes and hearts. Teach us to be God’s joyful witnesses, to radiate Christ in all we do, so that all people might know, love and follow your Son through this life and into the next. Amen.

This article appeared in the July 2021 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.